I Couldn’t Believe These Incredible Vintage Stevie Nicks Polaroids

Let me preface this piece with the following VERY true fact: Stevie Nicks was my first real idol. When I was a little girl, my parents had Nicks’ 1981 album “Bella Donna” on CD and it was played at every cook-out, Thanksgiving dinner, and get together they threw. By the time I was eight I am sure that I had watched the “Stevie Nicks: Live at Red Rocks” VHS 30 to 40 thousand times. As a child, I had visions of wearing wispy, ethereal gowns, crocheted shawls, and sky-high satin boots. My blonde-turning-brown hair, straight as sticks at the time, would surely gain volume and body by the time I made it to high school, and, when combined with the aforementioned ensemble, I would reign supreme as the weirdest girl in school. So, when I tell you this next thing, please know it’s coming from a fan. A real, dorky fangirl. A “I read the CD liner and wept with all the force my 13 year old body could muster” fan.

Stevie Nicks, enigma and perfect human, has, with the assistance of Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame, put together a collection of Polaroid Self-Portraits spanning the entirety of her career. The exhibit, named “24 Karat Gold,” will go on display at the Morrison Hotel Gallery in New York City this October is being presented in conjunction with a new album of the same name. Nicks states she began staging and taking the portraits as a way to learn how to be a photographer, and I think we can all agree that she nailed it. These images, created long before the age of Instagram Filters, are filled with innocence and womanhood, depth and clarity. They show a young woman learning and growing into herself both as a human and an artist. I mean, just look at these images!

BEAUTIFUL!

GORGEOUS!

HOW IS SHE A REAL PERSON!? Seriously, if you are lucky enough to be in the New York City area do not miss this exhibit. Just think of eight year old me singing “Edge of Seventeen” into her hair brush (or, more accurately, an oscillating fan). Do it for her.